Lowry vs. Calderon: RaptorsOnGame Blog.

So, this post isn't just about those 2, but also about myself! Because of the RR family (You guys!), I have decided to take Media Journalism once I am finished secondary. I absolutely love to write, argue, discuss sports, life, news, whatever there is in the world.

Thank you to the RR family, for giving me an out-look on what I want to do for my future. I truly love covering and writing, and I have one special request to ask, and that is help.

I have taken under a blog on Google, called http://raptorsongame.blogspot.ca/. I have recently just wrote a piece on the debate regarding our two point guards, Jose Calderon & Kyle Lowry.

Not only did I want to discuss this, but to get help, insight, criticism, on my writing and covering in general, as I hope to make a future out of this.

Thank you RR again, and I hope you enjoy my piece.

Kyle Lowry vs. Jose Calderon.

Here we go again. It seems like every year, there's always a discussion with the Toronto Raptors, and their point guards.
This year, it's between the veteran, the professional, the Spaniard Jose Calderon, spending all his 8 years as an NBA player in Toronto, & the intense, defensive, scoring minded bull-dog in Kyle Lowry. He is spending his 7th season as a Toronto Raptor, after being traded from the Houston Rockets for guard, Gary Forbes, & a protected 1st round pick. Drafted to the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2006 NBA Draft.

its undertaken not taken under..decent write up though..i hadnt heard any #s thrown around by calderons camp but if its any were near what u suggested then no way jose!! i like lowry' game but he needs to gain a better understanding of when to pass & when to take over the game..also as much as i love his bowling ball style on offence i have to wonder how long he can maintain a high level of play without shortening his career through injury..IMO Lowry is best suited for an offence that has a Point Forward type player like (LBJ) Lowry is a deadly shooter & plays well off the ball at PG.

Here's my feedback, none of it is meant to offend, so don't take anything personally, and feel free to disregard anything if you disagree. I'm not a journalist nor do I have any professional training in journalism or writing (other than a university degree which includes a minor in Enlish Lit). so I am certainly NOT an authority.

Who's your audience? If you are looking to write for serious hardcore raptor fans (and imho, it would only be those type of people who would take time to read a blog solely about the raptors) what information, analysis or argument are you providing that they can't get anywhere else?

For me there really wasn't much in your article that I hadn't heard elsewhere, and in fact most people would probably agree that Lowry is more likely to be the future PG of this team than Jose, so a majority of raptors fans probably already agree with the premise of your argument. In fact, if you plan on doing this for a living you may want to try to write pieces (at least occasionally) that make an argument that no one else would agree with (even you. Many journalists make their money by being contrarians, or making outlandish claims. If your target audience is a very small specific group, you need to provide them something they can't get anywhere else. I would include myself as a hardcore fan, and felt like your article didn't offer enough statistical evidence as part of your argument. To me it seemed that your article was geared to a wider audience, it seems like a piece you would read as an opinion piece on a general nba blog or a print newspaper. If you are doing articles of that depth (light on advanced stats, or without insider/team sources) you may wish to consider appealing to a wider audience.

If your intended audience is the serious raps fan, you may want to get more familiar with stats, however, it the stats back up what the general opinion is, it still may not satisfy your target audience. You may also try being over the top. Instead of just saying "my opinion is that Lowry should be the starter" you attack the front office/asking "why isn't Lowry starting? Because he is clearly the better choice as the starting PG". Your argument points can be the same, but it might be more enticing for the reader since you take on a more abrasive/passionate tone (which is acceptable in an opinion piece).

So I wouldn't say that there is anything seriously wrong with your article, I would only say that journalism is a horrendously difficult field to get any kind of traction/following/readers. From my experience it helps to know exactly who your audience is, what level of understanding they already have on the topic, provide a little more information than what they would already have (but not so much as to alienate the reader) OR provide an opinion that is contrary to the one they are likely to have, or be a little outrageous or indignant. Every right-wing radio host in the US basically is paid to be angry and indignant. In the digital age there are almost an infinite amount of places for people to get their information (even though most of it seems to say the same things) in order for you to be successful you need to find a way to stand out, from everyone else .

Hopefully, some of that is useful. As I said before I am certainly NOT a professional, and please disregard as much of my feedback as you like.

"We only have one rule on this team. What is that rule? E.L.E. That's right's, E.L.E, and what does E.L.E. stand for? EVERYBODY LOVE EVERYBODY. Right there up on the wall, because this isn't just a basketball team, this is a lifestyle. ~ Jackie Moon

Here's my feedback, none of it is meant to offend, so don't take anything personally, and feel free to disregard anything if you disagree. I'm not a journalist nor do I have any professional training in journalism or writing (other than a university degree which includes a minor in Enlish Lit). so I am certainly NOT an authority.

Who's your audience? If you are looking to write for serious hardcore raptor fans (and imho, it would only be those type of people who would take time to read a blog solely about the raptors) what information, analysis or argument are you providing that they can't get anywhere else?

For me there really wasn't much in your article that I hadn't heard elsewhere, and in fact most people would probably agree that Lowry is more likely to be the future PG of this team than Jose, so a majority of raptors fans probably already agree with the premise of your argument. In fact, if you plan on doing this for a living you may want to try to write pieces (at least occasionally) that make an argument that no one else would agree with (even you. Many journalists make their money by being contrarians, or making outlandish claims. If your target audience is a very small specific group, you need to provide them something they can't get anywhere else. I would include myself as a hardcore fan, and felt like your article didn't offer enough statistical evidence as part of your argument. To me it seemed that your article was geared to a wider audience, it seems like a piece you would read as an opinion piece on a general nba blog or a print newspaper. If you are doing articles of that depth (light on advanced stats, or without insider/team sources) you may wish to consider appealing to a wider audience.

If your intended audience is the serious raps fan, you may want to get more familiar with stats, however, it the stats back up what the general opinion is, it still may not satisfy your target audience. You may also try being over the top. Instead of just saying "my opinion is that Lowry should be the starter" you attack the front office/asking "why isn't Lowry starting? Because he is clearly the better choice as the starting PG". Your argument points can be the same, but it might be more enticing for the reader since you take on a more abrasive/passionate tone (which is acceptable in an opinion piece).

So I wouldn't say that there is anything seriously wrong with your article, I would only say that journalism is a horrendously difficult field to get any kind of traction/following/readers. From my experience it helps to know exactly who your audience is, what level of understanding they already have on the topic, provide a little more information than what they would already have (but not so much as to alienate the reader) OR provide an opinion that is contrary to the one they are likely to have, or be a little outrageous or indignant. Every right-wing radio host in the US basically is paid to be angry and indignant. In the digital age there are almost an infinite amount of places for people to get their information (even though most of it seems to say the same things) in order for you to be successful you need to find a way to stand out, from everyone else .

Hopefully, some of that is useful. As I said before I am certainly NOT a professional, and please disregard as much of my feedback as you like.

Best of luck!

That's very useful! Thank you for putting in the time and effort into that, really appreciate that ezz_bee. I'll put these into practice.

Great work, I'd put in an input, but I really am a anti-talent in this field, but I can say that I really liked it and that I'm lookin foward to more Raptor blogs from Herr Reuben!

Regarding the contents, I don't get why Jose is called a injuty-prone player, I think he is you of the toughest on the roster behind Amir and Lowry, he has played with his face all taped up more times than I could count on one hand. Like yeah has missed about 14 games/season but hes been fine otherwise, Lowry is a very Bulldog-type player and is much more injury-prone than calderon and I am really kinda scared that his game-style is gonna get the best of him.

Great work, I'd put in an input, but I really am a anti-talent in this field, but I can say that I really liked it and that I'm lookin foward to more Raptor blogs from Herr Reuben!

Regarding the contents, I don't get why Jose is called a injuty-prone player, I think he is you of the toughest on the roster behind Amir and Lowry, he has played with his face all taped up more times than I could count on one hand. Like yeah has missed about 14 games/season but hes been fine otherwise, Lowry is a very Bulldog-type player and is much more injury-prone than calderon and I am really kinda scared that his game-style is gonna get the best of him.

Thanks Mike, appreciate it!

My reasoning was, Jose Calderon is aging. Injuries only hurt any time for a player to recover, he's just been lucky not to have been hit with any long period injuries. Just ankle sprains, hits to the body. Lowry is just as injury-prone, but the thing with Lowry, is he's still fairly young, and like you said, just as durable. Age becomes a factor when injuries hit.

Best way to improve your writing (aside from writing every day, as has already been suggested) is to read great writers. I would start feasting on sports writers - authors, not just journalists - like Stephen Brunt, and many others who have written books about sports figures.

I believe enthusiasm is extremely important. And you need a point of view, as was suggested by ezz_bee. Certainly educate yourself on statistics, because you will need to understand them to ever have an intelligent answer to people who don't.

Another general suggestion, similar to ezz_bee's comment about determining your target audience, is to figure out your personal angle from which you will approach a topic. This has become even more important in the digital era, with the proliferation of "sports journalists", both professional and amateur.

What I mean by this is, will you be a stats guy? Will you focus on the personal side of a story? Will you use 'insider' info? Will you take a positive/negative slant? Will you write seriously or humorously? Whichever you choose, you need to be sure that you come across as both passionate and genuine, but do so consistently.

For example, a lot of people hate Doug Smith, but he is consistent and you know what type of writing you will get from him. He truly has insider connections and writes his blogs from a 'humorous everyman' angle. He tries to come across as 'just one of the guys' who happens to have those insider connections, while attempting to be witty and relatable. I'm not saying he is always successful or that he is universally well liked, but you could read his blogs blindly and likely be able to guess the author, so he has at least been successful in creating a blog persona.

You need to make people want to read you specifically, not just because of your knowledge/expertise and sources, but also because of how you write and the tone/tact with which you connect with your readers.